Persevere for the Better
by Raiden Amour
Summary: Roxas has: a chip on his shoulder, a town he's never been to, and people he's never met. Which includes his father, and his father's 'upgrade' family. Will he spiral downward, or rise above it?
1. Chapter 1

The police knocked, again and again, on the red door, they wanted someone to answer quickly while the blond boy they accompanied hoped it to go unanswered. Roxas shifted his weight from one worn out sneaker to the other, the long ride there was filled with nothing but silence from the two weirdos in front of him. His young heart jumped as the door finally opened, curiosity peeked but the weirdos blocked his vision of the person who stood in the doorway.

Was it his father?

No, of course not.

"Hello?"

"Hello ma'am," Roxas rolled his blue eyes while the cops introduced themselves, of course his father had a chick in his life, and obviously she would be the one to answer the door instead of him. He probably wasn't even there... "Roxas was recently picked up for attempted petty larceny, but" the cop physically pulled the teen into the conversation. "In light of recent events, the store owner has agreed to drop the charges."

Roxas slinked the hand off his shoulder like it was diseased, and then he got a glimpse of his father's piece. She was pale, long dark hair, and big brown eyes, the complete opposite of his mother... Something else she had that his mother didn't was a big ol' diamond on her finger.

"Roxas!" She swept the teen up in a hug, said teen kept his hands at his sides, he didn't know this woman in the slightest. Quickly she took a step back, releasing him, "I'm sorry-" she paused, "You're room is back there, it was last minute-" she cut herself off again, "You'll be sharing a room with your brother."

Without another word, the blond walked through the home that was not his home, walking through an ill-lit living room full of dark furniture and picture frames. They continued to talk in the door way, and Roxas took the chance to look at the people in the pictures. There were pictures of a brown haired boy, from tiny to teenager, and another boy in a few of the pictures had blond hair like Roxas, but there wasn't many photos and they stopped while he was still tiny. No photos of any adults though, no helpful.

As he began his travels back to the room that was pointed out as partially his, he was interrupted. "Take your time..." The woman sat on one of that chairs, watching the blond. "I wasn't trying to rush you to your room, just thought you might have wanted to hide away."

"What's there left to hide from?" his voice was quiet, he turned his back to her and began looking at the photos again.

Out of his pocket he pulled the one photo he ever had, creased down the middle, but it still didn't touch her smile,. He'd have loved a home with photos of smiling faces, it was too late for that.

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**_First chapter/ short intro_**

**_There will be more to the CB series, this is not it. Next CB will be called Candles. _**

**_I'm trying to do this story right, if at all possible. _**

3/19/19


	2. Chapter 2

All these photos, smiling children, holidays, birthdays, and random moments captured, and Roxas wasn't in any of them.

Maybe that was best.

The photos lined the walls all the way down to where the woman gestured his room to be, they were starting to become taunting. This smiling child frozen in various poses would most likely be the blob that he was to share a room with. Or the little barely seen blond in the photo, who would it be? As he pushed open the door, his body went into auto pilot.

It was safe to assume the bare and cold side of the room was to be his. Shoulder brushing the handles of the dresser as he face planted his bed, there was no visible cloud of dust, but it still filled his lungs. The bed he stared at obviously belonged to someone, an immature personality written all over it. Turning to face the pale blue wall didn't help with his growing headache, but it was better than the college of colors his apprent brother owned.

A few deep breaths later and there was a knock behind him. There was no point in shutting the door, but the woman still felt it best to knock.

"I'm about to order dinner if you'd like to pick something out." She didn't wait for a response before she left the way she came.

"What the Hell Mom..." he whispered to himself.

The woman was sitting at a dark table, a menu in front of her and a phone in her hand. "Perfect," she looked at the teen, "Order anything you want," she pushed the menu towards him, not even giving him a chance to sit down.

"Take out?" it wasn't terrible, but one thing the teen had been missing was home cooked meals. "Whatever you're having." there was no need to read the flimsy paper, it was Chinese food so he most likely liked anything on it, if not, he wasn't very hungry. Trying his hardest to be miserable was going to be difficult, he had a weakness for Chinese food, not that she would know...

He prefer it to be home made, like the times his mother and he would spend hours goofing off to make a simple dish. Maybe it was less the food he wanted.

Pulling a chair out, he distant himself from her, while she sat at the end, he sat a chair down. Roxas wanted to talk- he wanted to rant and unleash the anger he felt- what better time for it when the woman was the only one there. Once she hung up the phone, she didn't miss a beat.

"I'm Tifa- " another pause- "Cloud's wife."

A smirk from the teen.

"Was there anything you wanted to talk about... any questions?"

Roxas sat back in the chair, staring at the table, "Nope," there was a slight pout on his face. He'd be damned if he let anyone believe he was eager, and terrified, to meet his father.

"Okay..." she held her breath, "How about I tell you some things? I live here with your- Cloud- and our son, your brother, Sora. He's the one sharing your room, but he isn't going to be here tonight, because he's staying with a friend... Um..."

"It's fine," the boy cut her off, "I don't need a walk through of your guys' life, I'm not going to be here that long anyway." the last part was a mumble, but Tifa heard it. She'd save it for later but disregarded it.

"We know so much about you-"

"You don't know anything about me." There was the angry teenager she was promised.

"We do care..." it wasn't her place to be kissing up to him, "No matter how you feel towards your father, I'd like for you and your brother to have a clean slate."

Staring at the ceiling, he thought long and hard, he never knew he had a brother. With a click of his tongue, he spoke, "What's this brother like?"

"He's a jokester," she smiled as she spoke about him, "He's social, and gentle-"

"So nothing like me?"

"He's like your father..."

"I wouldn't know, he dipped out on me."

"He feels terrible, he always has, he wishes he was more accessible for you two."

"Then maybe he should have done something, maybe he should be here now instead of having his wife tell me how he feels 'terrible'." The teen practically stared her down.

Her mouth scrambled for words but a retort was missed, instead she redirected the comversation.

"You're 16, almost 17, you and Sora are close in age-"

"How close?" His face showed his anger and curiosity.

But he wasn't given an answer. "School is in session now," She directed again, "You would normally be in 11th grade, but... our school is different and you've missed so much- you'll be starting in 10th..."

"I have to go back to being a sophomore?" Roxas' mouth hung open.

"It's only temporary-" were not the words she meant to say, but as much as she wanted to, she couldn't take them back. The teen smirked as he put his head down.

Of course it was temporary, his father didn't want him there, and Roxas didn't want to stay there either.

"We're on the same page..." He stood up, storming out the front door, hood up and shoes still tightly laced, he knew better than to have gotten comfortable. It was a completely new to him place, but the troubled teen didn't care, no one did, why should he?

Left alone in his thoughts was a dangerous place.

His mother always spoke so highly of his 'father', but it never mattered what she said, if he was such a great person he'd have stuck around in his son's life longer than to sign the birth certificate. The woman he left in the house acted like he was this great thing too.

Was he really great? The blond entertained the idea of a happy little life style growing up with his mother and father, but he quickly shook the idea away.

Of course not, he was just a manipulative asshole.

"What the Hell am I doing?" the tipped his head back, staring at the sky, "What are you planning Mom?"

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.**Uploaded: April 9th, 2019**


	3. Chapter 3

Roxas didn't know where he was walking, but his legs needed to move as his mind reeled. Thoughts a mile a minute running through his head. There was a reason he'd stayed away from his father and as his heart raced in anger, he realized some of that reason was fear of disappointment. Fear his father really didn't want him, the teen had pep talked himself from such a young age about how is father didn't want him but a small part of him always wished to be welcomed in with open arms.

"It's temporary," the words rang loud and clear.

He'd been considered missing for the last few weeks, he knew when the cops picked him up they'd bring him to his father's, unless he could get them to throw him somewhere else. That plan fell through, unless Tifa called the cops again.

It was a shitty move on her part, but she could claim he was trying to run away . And there was no doubt in the teen's mind the police would hold him till his mother was better. If he could get his way.

"What the hell..." he mumbled, what teenager wishes to be thrown into a cell?

He'd walked in circles and lines and all shapes, he was officially lost. Without pausing, he looked around, the houses all looked the same, but the person behind him stood out. No more than 50 feet behind him paced a man, his head covered by a hood, his steps matched Roxas' speed. The teen turned. When the man turned too was when the blond's focus changed. Trying not to make it obvious, he sized up the man behind him. Much taller, skinny, and though he had a hood up, long red hair stood out. The more turns he took, the more concered he became. He wasn't terrified, he was far too angry for that still. Maybe this man would kill him and save him from his annoying dilemma.

Unhealthy thoughts crossed his mind, most about how the mystery man would kill him. Roxas didn't want to go back to his father's house, referring to the man as his father was becoming more off putting then the man behind him, he'd go back to calling him Cloud.

Not only was there a man following him, but now there was a car pulling up to him. Did Tifa already call the cops?

"Roxas!" The woman called from the vehicle, he stopped and spared her a glance, "I'm sorry Roxas, that wasn't what I meant, can we please go home?"

"Go home, I'm fine," he gestured to the sidewalk, he'd be fine on the streets, he and his murderer would be best friends.

She parked the car, leaving it running she hopped out and approached the teen. "No, you're 16, you shouldn't be out here, you should be home, sleeping in a warm bed, with clean clothes and a full stomach."

Did she know how long he spent running away and living on the streets?

There was a gasp from beside them.

"Tifa," it was the teen's murderer, "You're no Sora." It sounded more like a question.

Tifa opened her mouth, after a breath so deep she closed her eyes, she spoke, "No, this is Roxas... Sora's brother."

The hood fell down, Roxas saw bright green eyes and black face tattoos, an apologetic look on the _teen's _face. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were Sora and I was trying to creep you out," he looked like he wanted to add more, but stumbled for words, "I'm sorry."

"That's alright, I was hoping you'd be the murderer that put me out of my misery."

"Roxas!" Tifa didn't like his honesty. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because that's how I talk _Tifa_, but you wouldn't know that because you don't really know me, do you?" It was a low blow, Roxas didn't realize that till he saw her reaction, the pain filled face. He wanted to take back his words, they were true, but they were venomous.

"Roxas..." She said calmly, "Can we go home..."

His mouth opened to say no, but his hands were getting cold, he was hungry, but mostly he was tired. Covering his face for a minute, he gave in, his hands going up in surrender, "Okay, fine."

"Thank you."

Roxas felt her watching him, as if to make sure he was actually getting into the tiny car. When she followed his lead, she kept her mouth shut tight. She wanted to comment on his behavior, about what she had said to him, about how he didn't put on his seat belt, but she kept quiet.

Tifa knew Roxas would be different from Sora, but she never understood just how much.

Her mouth opened as she turned the car off, her rational mind having come up with something to say, but once the car was parked the teen was gone. The blond bee-lined for the house without a word. Tifa slumped against the steering wheel, what was the right move?

Roxas sat on the bare bed, back to the door. It was still sunny outside, but the teen wanted to sleep, he wanted to get away from everything without physically moving. As he drifted off, memories ran through his mind. Finally there was peace. His mother's calming face, her warm smile, she didn't have to do anything to make Roxas feel better. She never did.

The room was white last time he saw her. Her body hooked up to beeping machines, heavily bandaged. Roxas broke down when they tried to pull him away from her, he wasn't hurting anything by being there. Nurses tried at first. Grabbing his arms and physically moving him, in the nicest way they could. That quickly went out the window. Police took over. Picking him up and pulling him away. He reached for his mother. He begged her to wake up, to get them to leave him alone. She wasn't moving, she didn't even flinch when he screamed for her, punching and hitting the police with everything he had, landing on the cold hard hospital floor a few dozen times before he finally broke free and ran.

"Who are you?" Hot hands yanked the teen out of the bed.

The teen's mind never had a chance to register the question before he was asked again. The silver haired teen was beyond impatient. Grabbing at the hands, Roxas attempted to fight him off like he had the cops.

"Riku!" Another voice yelled.

"What-"

"Let go of him, what are you doing? Does he look like some random hobo off the street? Calm down..."

"Who is he?"

"I am right here."

"This is Roxas," Sora gestured to the stranger in his room. "Mom said you were older than me..." His train of thought stopped. "I'm Sora," his hand outstretched for a hand shake, "This is Riku." Said hand dropped.

"I'm older than you..." the words didn't go unheard, "How old are you?"

"I'm 16," he smiled like he was proud, "Riku's 17"

Roxas didn't care how old Riku was, "When's your birthday?"

"March 7th," his smile did nothing but anger Roxas more. Roxas cut him off when he began to explain when Riku's birthday was.

"You're 16, your birthday's in March?" He'd already forgotten the day, he shook his head as a sinister laugh escaped him. "Fuck..."

The room was silent, Roxas smiling like he'd heard a dark joke while Sora and Riku awkward stood in the small room.

"Um... How old are you?"

His smile grew. "I'm 16. My birthday is in November. I'm older than you. By four fucking months." A headache was slowly growing in the blond's brain.

"Were Irish twins," the brown haired boy offered a weak smile.

Roxas smile dropped as he looked at his Irish twin. "Yeah. Our dad is a fucking sleaze."

"Hey," Riku chimed back in. "You don't know him, so don't talk shit about him."

The words backfired without Roxas having to say anything. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yup, you're the newer, better model of me. Our father couldn't bother to watch my first steps because he watching you crawl for the first time." Him meeting his brother made everything worse.

Riku left the room, "Can I sit?" Sora motioned to his brother's bed, since his was covered with everything he owned.

"Go for it." Roxas could have joined in, but instead he stood as far away as he could.

"Can we..." the brunet struggled for words. "Can we start over?" Silence was his answer. "Look, I'm sorry, it's not my fault... can... we just enjoy what you and I have though?"

"What's that?"

"Well," as Sora began to think, a smile began to grow on his face. "We're close in age, we can wear each other's clothes- you can wear any of mine- I could dye my hair blond and we could mess with people because we look a lot alike! We'll be in the same grade-"

"Stop," no one broke the news to him. "I'll be a year behind you... your mom said so..." the smile on his younger brother's face dropped. With a deep breath, he looked at the ceiling, here was a kid that was genuinely happy to have Roxas around and was trying to make the most of it in a juvenile way, and clean clothes would be nice. "Yeah," he gave in, "We can start over," the boy's smile grew, "If, if you let me borrow some clean clothes."

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_**Uploaded April 29, 2019**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Don't worry Roxas, you look fine." His brother was trying to help Roxas' nerves, but the boy didn't understand exactly what was going on in his mind.

"Yeah..." He followed Sora off the school bus. He'd always walked to school, but the big hunk of metal was the least of his worries. Second to least was being the new kid so early in the school year. The blond boy wasn't bothered in the slightest by that. But, starting at the school meant he'd be staying... a lot longer than he wanted to. When he asked Tifa how his mother was doing that morning, the woman gave an answer Roxas didn't trust- 'better'.

Sora was talking a mile a minute, "Woah, Sora, slow down." The teen stopped just outside the front doors. "Listen," he held his hands out like he was trying to reason with a wild animal. "I get it, you're excited, okay, yeah, that's cool, but... slow down a little." Roxas thought back to how Tifa described her son, she left out hyper.

"I know," the boy was visibly holding back the urge to spaz out again. "I'm just really excited, and I want to help."

Sora had already helped a lot, he chose an outfit out for Roxas to wear- that he thought the teen would like the most. He was spot on, and Roxas was impressed. Black clothes all around, Sora threw in a hoodie even though it was scorching hot outside.

The blond rolled his sleeves up, and took a deep breath for the both of them.

"Okay," the brunet tried to slow down, "We're in the same area, just different teachers."

Roxas really wanted to pay attention to his slightly younger brother, but his mind was else where. He didn't even know where. When a new person entered his field of sight, he was snapped back to reality.

"What the fucks your problem?" Roxas jumped between the new boy and his brother. Said new kid had approached the two of them and violently shoved Sora.

"It's okay Roxas," his brother piped up behind him but before he could elaborate the other boy spoke.

"Oh look, there's two of them now." He was a blond teen in a blue tank top with a black beanie. Roxas sized him up.

Roxas stayed quiet, the teen was a lot taller than him. Were they friends, or enemies? After the boy made a few more remarks, he walked away. The tension quickly died down, but Roxas never even noticed to begin with.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing," Sora adjusted his backpack, "That's Seifer, he's um... the school bully."

"And you let him push you around?"

"Well, no," he quickly defended himself. "I don't _let_ him... he just... notices me from time to time." He tried to lead Roxas down the hall, but the blond wanted to continue their conversation. With a sigh, Sora comforted him, "It's okay, it's not like he hurts me, he just shoves me every once in a while. It's okay, it's not a big deal."

"It's always a big deal." Roxas' serious demeanor almost scared Sora. "It's never okay for someone to put their hands on you. Never."

Sora stood quietly, his fear began to morph into concern.

"If he bugs you again, let me know." He didn't wait for his brother, he began walking down the hallway.

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Roxas sat in his first period class, surrounded by a bunch of loud kids. They were only a year younger than him, but the age difference was clear.

"Would you like to say somethings about yourself?"

Of course the teacher felt the need to point out that the boy by the door with his hood up was the new student.

"No."

The room was finally silent for the first time. The teacher continued to pick and prod but Roxas didn't nudge.

Once the class was over, he was surprised to find Sora standing in front of him, "Ready?"

"Yeah, sure." Roxas' followed his overly eager Irish twin to his next class. Roxas could have found his classes on his own, but his brother seemed to enjoy helping, and it wasn't hurting anything either, but by his fourth class Roxas snapped.

"Would you like to say something about yourself?"

Again, another teacher asked, but Roxas finally snapped.

"I don't feel good, I need to use the bathroom." Roxas didn't wait for a response, he was out the door and aimlessly walking around.

Something interesting finally happened.

Standing in the track was his murderer, smoking a cigarette.

Roxas hopped the fence, gaining the red heads attention, he held out his hand and after a smile the man gave him his cigarette.

"Damn." Roxas took a drag anyway. It wasn't a cancer stick like he hoped, instead it was a home made joint.

"Didn't know you smoked." The redhead, Axel remarked, continuing to walk around the track.

"What do you know about me?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Who is Seifer?"

"Did your brother have a run in with him?"

The concept of brother was still new to Roxas, but his question angered him too much to dwell on blood lines.

"You know about him?"

"Not really," he took a long drag, holding it in before slowly exhaling. "I've heard people say Seifer messes with Sora, but when I ask Sora he denies it, and Seifer does the same." There was silence but Roxas continued to walk around the track with him. "I'm Axel," he held out his hand. And like Sora's it was dropped. "And your name goth boy?"

"Goth boy," Roxas snorted, "Sure, sounds better." After another hit he indulged the red head. "I'm Roxas, you knew that."

"Did I?"

"Tifa told you my name when you were attempting to murder me."

"Look," he was almost defensive, "I thought you were Sora, you've met your brother, he's not easy to scare. He could've known that was me and he still would've been scared shitless."

"Hey! That's my brother" Roxas sounded offended, "But yeah, it seems like it."

They walked almost a lap in silence.

"So, why has your brother never mentioned you before?"

"Ask him." Roxas kept that in mind. Tifa mentioned she wanted them to get along, how Cloud always regretted not being in Roxas' life, but they couldn't mention him to Sora? They kept him quiet like he was some dirty secret.

"You guys look like twins," Another puff, "What brings you here now?"

Roxas stole the dutch, "I don't do back stories."

Axel stole it back, "Alright, fine, why're you skipping class?"

"_Would you like to say something about yourself?_" the teen mocked.

"Yeah," Axel laughed, "They love that line. Shit," he thought back, "When I moved here I heard it every class, every day, for almost a week before they finally fucking dropped it."

"You haven't always been here?"

"No," he smirked, watching as he crushed the remaining paper under his shoe. "No, but," he lifted his eyes to stare at Roxas, "School here sucks, they're so ahead, no matter where you come from, you have to go back a year." Axel was beyond curious.

Roxas wore his own smirk, nodding his head as he looked into the distance. He wasn't going to answer any question he wasn't directly asked.

"Sora said your his younger brother, well at least that's the theory working it's way around."

"What else do they say?"

With a smirk Axel indulged the blond. "You're Sora's twin, spitting image, a _total bad boy with Sora's cuteness_."

Even Roxas had to laugh at that, looks seemed to be the only thing him and his brother had in common. Roxas' mind began to wander, he had so many unanswered questions that he never asked. But did he really want to. What was the point in investing so much energy in a life he wasn't going to be keeping.

"Yeah... whatever," he mumbled to himself, his smirk dropping. He didn't answer Axel's questions, but instead jumped the fence that surrounded the track and left school. There was tons to explore in a new town, right?

Roxas had no idea where he was going, he planned to walk back towards the house. Since he had no phone or watch, he didn't know when he was supposed to appear there, but that didn't matter because he couldn't even find the house. Not that he was looking for it either.

A car pulled up to him after what felt like hours.

"Roxas," it was Tifa, again. "Let's go home," she didn't get out of the car this time.

He thought about it for a moment before giving in. He'd already been there almost a whole day and he still hadn't met his father. Maybe he could get Tifa to get his father to get rid of him, she was good enough of a reason for his father to leave and never come back. They rode to the house in silence, the teen could tell the woman was frustrated, but she didn't want to explode. When they finally arrived, she kept the car running. A hint for Roxas to stay in the car.

"Roxas..." she took a deep breath, "I know this is hard for you, but you can't leave school like that. What would you have done if I didn't find you? Sora's been freaking out about you since he got home, what were you planning on doing? Do you want us to call the cops and have you taken away."

She really didn't beat around the bush. Maybe she wanted to call the cops, but she didn't want to be the bad guy. It was funny how she said _us_ but as far as the blond knew, his father couldn't even bother to show up. Maybe it was his father who wanted to call the cops, he was imposing on all their lives. Like she said, Sora was the only one freaking out about him. He didn't have a problem with his brother, but he did have a problem with everything else in his life. It wasn't like he chose to move around and leave his mother behind.

"Tifa," he took a deep breath of his own, "Don't worry about it, you're not my mom."

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Roxas sat on his freshly made bed, covered with a sheet and blanket and even a pillow. He watched as Sora continued to go through the mess that still occupied his bed. There were dressers on both sides of the room, and Sora had taken it upon himself to go through his clothes, putting all the clothes Roxas approved of in the blond's dresser. Dark clothes weren't something Sora had a lot of, but Roxas would take anything he could get.

"Mom plans to take you shopping soon," the brunet held up more random things, "But those should get you through till then."

"Why are you going through all that?" Roxas asked, ignoring the comment about Tifa.

"What do you mean?" Confusion washed over the bubbly boy's face.

"You've been throwing all of that stuff into the same pile, why bother doing it piece by piece?"

"Oh," Sora stopped what he was doing for a second. "Just seeing if there's anything in here that would be useful for you to have."

Sora seemed to love and accept Roxas, even with the blond's cold shoulder. He was about the only one. Roxas was beginning to really appreciate his brother.

A soft knock on the closed door gained both of their attention. Sora looked at Roxas as if to make sure he was okay with a visitor. Was it Cloud?

"Roxas, can I speak with you?" It was Tifa, was his father finally in the house, she seemed awfully serious.

With a little hesitation, Roxas followed her to the ill-lit living room. She held something in her hands, a picture frame. Once he sat opposite her, she began to speak.

"I was going to wait to tell you..." She handed Roxas the object in her hands, a picture frame. In it was the blond boy. "Do you know who that is?"

"No." There was no reason for the teen to think about it.

"Go ahead, take it out."

Roxas' hands began to shake, what was the big deal about the photo? As he began opening it, it popped open, a folded up piece of lined paper in the back, and writing on the back of the photo.

_Roxas age 1_

How did they have a photo of him?

"Go ahead, read the note..."

The note was perfectly intact, like it wasn't outside of it's frame in many years.

_Dear Roxas, _

_How are you doing? Mommy loves you so much my little flower, I hope you know that. We've almost got your room set up, you'll be with me in no time. I know it feels like forever but Mommy can't wait to see you. I love you bunches._

_Mommy _

What the fuck was this?

"That's you..." Tifa pointed to the photo. "You lived with us the first year and a half of your life..."

Roxas stared at her in disbelief.

"Your mother, Aerith, and your father were still very close when you were born. Your father never chose us over you."

"Then why can't I remember him?" He went back to his room without another word.

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**Uploaded May 1st, 2019**


	5. Chapter 5

Roxas laid on his bed, wearing another outfit of Sora's. The more he thought, the more his head hurt.

Tifa knocked on the closed bedroom door again, "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

"That's okay, I'm not going," he whispered to himself. Sora was always hanging out with Riku, Roxas practically had the bedroom to himself, but he didn't wasn't to be there either.

In a single movement, the teen stood up and walked out of his room, out of the house. He had been there for three days and he still hadn't met his father. Never even caught a glimpse. The more time that went on, the more the teen became nervous. What was with the note? Why was his father ignoring him? Was his presents the reason no one was ever around?

Whatever.

He'd walk away from it all. It was better if he disappeared, right?

After walking a few blocks, he was no longer alone.

"If you're not going to murder me, leave me alone."

'Why would I want to do that?" The redhead kept up with the teen. Tucking his phone in his pocket and leaving his hand there. "Are you trying to get put away?"

The blond pause for a second, surprised by the question. "No." His answer was believable.

"Are you sure? You do a lot of these 'walks'..."

"Is there a reason you're bugging me?"

"Is there a reason you want me to murder you?"

They stopped walking, Roxas looking up to the redhead. After a deep breath he kept moving, "No..."

"Are you sure?" Axel repeated himself. "You know..." The blond stopped walking, turning to face him while the taller boy began his rant. "They do care about you..."

"Oh really?" His face didn't look like he believed that in the slightest.

"Sora loves having a brother... he never stops talking about you."

"What are you his boyfriend?" When the redhead gave him a confused look, the teen elaborated. "You know an awful lot about my _brother_."

Axel smirked, "Yeah, no I'm not his boyfriend... that would be Riku." The last part was a whisper.

"Seriously?"

"No," he smirked, "I'm kidding. I'm... friends... with Riku, Sora's been attached to his hip recently..."

They continued walking.

"Tifa cares too..."

"How do you know that?"

"She keeps checking up on you, doesn't she?" When the blond nodded, he continued, "She was worried about you... about how you would be adjusting, so, she quit her job."

Roxas wanted to feel grateful, but instead he wondered why his father didn't do that instead.

"Yes, Cloud was going to," Axel read Roxas' mind. "Cloud makes more dependable money, and for some reason they thought a female presence might make you feel better." When he received the confused look he explained, "Sora talks... a lot."

Their walk became eerily quiet.

After a few more blocks, the two's pace slowed down. There were a lot of the things the blond wanted to say, but no one asked him any questions. No one asked, so no one needed to know. As they approached a bridge, Axel gestured for the two of them to sit on the bench. Reluctantly, his motion was obligated.

"Why do you want to run away?" Axel asked as he slouched onto the metal bench.

"They don't want me here anyway," he answered a little quicker than he wanted to. "They can make room in their lives for me all they want... but that's just it," he looked over his shoulder at the redhead, "I'm not apart of their lives. Cloud has the perfectly little family here, it doesn't include me."

"So," Axel leaned forward to sit like the blond, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Blue eyes shot over to look at him, but he stayed looking forward. "Yeah..." he thought about it. He could have easily walked away from Tifa, he could have walked away from everything and not gone back to their house. Why didn't he? Instead he 'attempted' and gave up. Did he really want to run away? What did he have to go back to, his mother was still in the hospital, their home was empty.

Mostly empty, Zack still lived there. But, did the blond really want to go back to him? They never fought, but they never saw eye to eye either.

He wiped the thought from his mind.

"It's okay to care," the redhead spoke, "Curiosity made have killed the cat-"

"But satisfaction brought it back." Roxas finished his sentence, nodding his head. "Great pep talk."

"Cloud doesn't work weekends," Axel said after a few minutes of silence. The conversation didn't follow like he expected, instead more silence took place.

Roxas was deep in thought, debating his odds. If he ran away now, he knew what was waiting for him. But if he stayed, he could finally lay some unanswered questions to rest. He needed to make sure he knew what all his questions were first though. Cloud had one chance. Roxas didn't have the time to waste on the stranger, if he didn't live up to his low expectations, he'd get him to agree to take him to his mother. He'd stay by her bed till she got better. Because she had to get better. She never would have purposefully put herself in there like that, no matter what they said. Something didn't add up.

"Hey," Axel pulled him out of his thoughts, "Are you okay?" The redhead noticed the tears welding in his eyes. There was something he wasn't telling anyone, and it was obvious he needed to. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," the blond waved off the concern. "How do I get back to the house from here?"

A smile spread across Axel's face, "I'll walk with you." He pulled out his phone, but didn't divulge who he was talking to. The blond knew it wasn't his place also.

Their walk was comfortable and quiet. Roxas' enjoyed the comfort of being accompanied by someone so silent, unlike Sora. He didn't have anything against his brother, but he was so talkative. Something Roxas was not used too.

As they approached the house that was beginning to become all too familiar, Axel stopped. "Alright," he paused to make sure Roxas was paying attention to him. "I'll see you in school Monday... right?"

He thought about it before he answered. Really debating it in his mind. Confidently he nodded.

Axel smirked, "Good... I like seeing you." Without another word, the redhead left.

Roxas looked at his shoes, unsure of what the teen meant by his words. After a deep breath, he found his way inside.

"Roxas," he was instantly wrapped into a hug. Tifa was beyond eager to see him it seemed. "I was worried..." She whispered under her breath, pulling away from him. She walked to the couch behind her, gesturing to the bags that sat there. "I went shopping without you..." she sat down, "It's not a lot, but it's a start." Roxas moseyed his way to the bags, peaking inside them to see black clothes twined together. "We can go shopping for more stuff another time... I picked out things I thought would get you through till then..."

She patiently sat, waiting for some kind of reaction from the teen. He pulled out a few articles of clothing, placing them on the couch. Not bothering to take a seat, or move very fast. As if he was afraid the bag was full of venomous snakes. Tifa slowly stood up. There was no point in her waiting for him, the best thing she could do was to give the boy his space. Taking a few steps towards the other room, she was stopped.

"Tifa," the teen quietly spoke, "Thanks..."

A smile formed on her face, but she didn't let Roxas see. "Of course, it's not a problem at all." Tifa chanted in her head about her silent victory.

Roxas migrated the clothes to his room. They were nothing extravagant, but they could get him through the week without having to wash anything. He pulled open the drawers to his almost empty dresser. Pulling out Sora's clothes, he threw them on his bed and threw his own clothes in the dresser. By the time Sora came back, late at night, the clothes were neatly folded on his bed.

He laid on his bed, throwing a tennis ball he'd confiscated from the school.

"Roxas..." Sora took in the clothes, and the scene of his brother. His brother was beginning to put in roots. It warmed the brunets heart. He wasn't ready to lose his brother yet. "Hey..." he nervously sat next to his clothes, "I came back for some clothes, but I'm going back out... Do you want to join me?"

The blond peered over to his brother, "Nah, it's fine..."

"I want to hang out with you though... it's nothing wild," the boy quickly became defensive. "I was just going to hang out with Riku and Axel."

He added the redhead and Roxas' answer changed. "Sure," he shrugged. In truth, he didn't think him and his brother alone with Riku would be very interesting. More like Riku and Sora carrying on conversations and Roxas being the third wheel. But if Axel was going to be there, he might have someone to talk to when he became said third wheel.

Sora's face instantly grew a smile, "Yay," the words escaped him but only Roxas noticed it.

.

Roxas was lied to. Axel wasn't there, not right away. By the time he showed up, a lot later that night, Sora was ready to go home.

"All the time you spend out, and you're this early of a bird?" Roxas picked on his brother. The only way he really got into any of their conversations was by picking on one of them.

Sora pouted while Riku smiled, "He's usually already asleep by now."

The brunet blushed, "I'm tired okay?"

His smirked, "It's okay Sora, you're still cool in my book." Roxas patted his brother on the shoulder, giving him a genuine smile. Sora was surprised but that actually meant a lot to him.

"We can stay a little bit longer, but remember, it's a minute walk home."

"Hey," Axel spoke up, "I've got a vehicle, remember?" Sora was the only one who seemed a little on edge to that idea, but he accepted it without a fuss. He wanted to stay 'cool'.

After a few minutes of talking, the group of four split into two separate groups of two. Riku and Sora, chatting away about innocent life matters, and Axel was easily holding a conversation with Roxas.

"So, why'd you join Sora, you've never come before?"

"He asked me this time," Roxas shrugged, "Plus, he said you'd be here." It was an innocent response, but the blond elaborated when Axel raised an eyebrow. "I was right, okay? Sitting with the two of them is me being the unnecessary third wheel."

"Yeah, I know," Axel chuckled, "That's why I wait so long to show up. By the time I get here, Sora's too tired for conversation."

"Thought you liked my brother?" It was Roxas' turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I do," Axel really wished they were drinking. "What's the point in me coming me over to Riku's if I'm going to silently sit in the corner while they talk away?"

"Touché," Roxas nodded.

They continued to talk nonsense until Sora tapped his brother on his shoulder. "Rox…" no one missed the nickname, "I'm sorry... but I'm really tired... I have to go home tonight, I told Mom I'd be there."

"Okay," He stood up, looking at Axel and then his brother. "Do you want to walk?" He brother didn't seem comfortable with the idea of Axel driving. Sora didn't answer, but that was an answer in it's own. "Let's walk," he nodded to Axel as a form of goodbye, but was surprised when the two older boys followed them outside.

"We can walk with you," Axel smirked. Riku didn't look too happy about it, but he tagged along.

When the reached the house, Sora was quick to say good bye and make his way inside. Once he was gone, Riku didn't take long to leave. The silver haired man could take a hint.

"Want to keep walking?" The red head let out a breath once Roxas agreed to.

"What do you want to talk about?" The blond asked, his hands in his pockets. Axel right beside him.

"Well... I know you said you don't do back stories-"

"Nope."

"But," Axel finished, "It's more of a current story... How did you end up here?"

"Ah," the blond smirked, "This was all a trick to pick and pry at my brain?"

"No," the redhead chuckled, "Fine, never mind." He waved it off, "How are you liking it so far?"

"It's alright.. it's..." he thought carefully about his words. "It's different... Tifa and Sora seem to like the idea of me being here... but I'm not staying." He cut his sentence short, "Give it a few more weeks and I'll be gone. Everything will be back to the way it was and I'll be home."

Axel saw the teen's smile, cautiously speaking. "What would you do if it didn't? The blond stopped walking, staring at the teen in confusion, "Never mind," he quickly changed the subject. "So, how old are you?"

The blond took a second to adjust to the new topic, his mind still dwelling on the previous one. "I'm 16," the redhead nodded like he knew that. "How old are you?"

"I'm 19, I'll be 20 in January."

"19?" Roxas' confusion didn't last long. "How are you still in school- oh... you had to repeat a year?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, "It blows, but," he shrugged again, "Nothing I can do about it now."

"So," Roxas changed the subject this time, "Are Sora and Riku a thing?" Axel had hinted at it before, and now was the perfect time to ask. They walked a few minutes in silence, the redhead staring intently at the ground in front of him. Roxas knew it was rude to ask someone other than Riku or Sora, but he didn't think he'd get a straight answer from them. Especially how Axel hinted at it before. "They'd be good together."

That was the little push that helped Axel spill. "You know you should ask your brother that."

"I know they're something, it's obvious."

"Yeah," Axel sighed, "Sora's afraid to come out."

"Why?"

"He doesn't know how his- Cloud would take it." he nodded his head like he was trying to remember Sora's words exactly. "Cloud's never said anything otherwise, but Sora is worried about disappointing him."

"So what? Sora should care about his own happiness before Cloud's."

"Like you," Axel pointed out, "You'll happily rip yourself out of his life to do what you want, without thinking about him?"

"That's different," his lips pursed. Right?

"He's willing to wait till he's old enough to move out, so is Riku. Then maybe, if it does effect Cloud, Sora will be distant enough that Cloud won't notice as much." It sounded more like a question than statement. It probably didn't make any sense to Axel either.

"That's no way to live..." Roxas shook his head. A brilliant thought crossed his mind. "I've got an idea." He didn't wait for Axel to ask before he pitched his idea. "Want to be my boyfriend?" Axel stopped in his tracks, the blond boy spinning around and looking at him. "It's perfect," he explained, "I don't care if I disappoint Cloud. Maybe it'll take some tension off of Sora if he's got me to be mad at instead. He can even blame me for turning his son straight if he wants."

The more he explained, the more Axel saw the brilliance in his idea, "Not bad," he nodded.

"The only person we really need to convince is Cloud and Tifa, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Alright, let's do it."

The thoughts ran through his mind, when he left he could at least have helped out his brother as a parting gift. He hadn't even met the man yet though. The more he thought about it, the more he played around with the idea. "We'll have to wait though." He wanted answers. "I have questions for him first, then I can tell him I'm gay- wait." He stopped walking again. "Tifa knows you- are you gay?" Big hole in his plot if they all knew Axel to be straight.

Axel nodded his head, "As straight as a cone."

The younger looked at him in disbelief. "You've rehearsed that too many times..." Axel chuckled, "You're bi then?"

"Yes."

They began their walk back towards the house, "Why did you want to walk with me?"

"So we could go out," the redhead laughed.

"I'm not worth getting to know," Roxas said in a much more serious tone.

"I'll judge that for myself."

With a nod on both parties, they when their separate ways for the night.

When Roxas entered their bedroom, he was surprised to find Sora still awake. Although he was laying in bed.

"Have fun?" the brunet asked.

"Uh-huh," he nodded sitting on his bed, causing his brother to sit up in his own bed to look at him. He didn't know Roxas as much as he'd like, but he knew he wanted to talk about something. Roxas began to spill his latest scheme, careful not to step on his brother's toes. After a long conversation, Sora was all in.

.

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_**I'm trying to do this story better than anything else I've done... **_

_**Uploaded May 3rd, 2019**_


	6. Chapter 6

The blond felt like he was finely doing some good, the way his brother's eyes lit up at the idea of Roxas' helping him come out to his father was beyond words. The glow of his face kept Roxas awake late into the morning. Could he really leave his brother behind? They weren't that close, yet, but Roxas had something that could immensely help his brother.

He shook the thought out of his head.

Of course he had to, if it came down to his brother or his mother- he wanted his mother back.

But he didn't really want to give up his brother. The thought was laid to rest by the conclusion of when the time came, he would make it work. Everything would work out in the end, like his mother always said. If Roxas had to leave his brother behind though, even temporarily, he couldn't mess things up between Sora and his father. He never wanted to make his brother have to choose between him or the father he grew up. That was cruel.

"Cloud doesn't work weekends," the words rang through his head. It was officially the weekend, more than likely when he walked out in the morning Cloud would be there. If he wasn't, that would mean the man was going above and beyond to avoid him. It would be a little easier if his father did push him away, it wouldn't take any effort from the teen. But he wasn't sure if he really wanted that either.

Morning came late.

Blue eyes slowly opened, unware of the time, but blinded by the bright sun. A sweet smell slowly overwhelmed him. Noticing that his brother wasn't in bed, which surprised him, he decided to sit up. He'd been so distracted he'd slept in his clothes, but slowly standing up he hesitantly reached for the door knob, going forward with the day. Was he really ready to face the mystery man outside? Did he want to hide away a little longer. He took a deep breath. He opened the door.

He couldn't see anyone in the living room. There was laughter coming from the kitchen as he slowly approached. Pancakes, that was the sweet smell that awoke him.

"You're ridiculous," Sora laughed.

The blond froze, did he really want to impose on this family, that was perfectly happy without him?

"Roxas," a deep voice said, "Now that you're awake, come in here."

The tone was soft, one he hadn't heard before. After another deep breath, he began to take a step, but was stopped. There in front of him stood a man.

"Roxas," the man was blond, with blue eyes. An older version of Roxas, the spitting image. He let out a breath of his own, "You've grown so much..."

A smart remark didn't arise. The teen wanted to spit something out, but he was frozen. There was a faded memory that crossed his mind, a man looking much like Cloud, sat beside him, much larger in comparison to himself, laughing. Roxas could feel the smile on his face in that memory. It was short lived, the memory quickly ended.

"I'm sorry," Cloud waved the words away, "Come, Tifa's almost done making breakfast."

Everything the blond had prepared to yell at the man, all the animosity he wanted to portray, was gone. He stood silent, his jaw hanging open, and his mouth dry. As the man turned, Roxas' found his voice.

"Wait." He reached towards him, he did have questions but he didn't know how to make the thoughts coherent. His father turned back around and faced him.

Cloud seemed just as nervous as Roxas, but he was trying to hold it together. Before the teen could respond, Cloud gestured towards the living room. They sat in silence. It lingered on and on. Neither of them knowing what to say. Finally Roxas broke the silence.

"I knew you?" He rephrased it, "I used to live with you?"

The man only offered a nod, his mouth tightly shut.

"Why didn't I know that?" if it wasn't for the photo and note, Roxas wouldn't have believed it.

"I, I really don't know why... Your mother and I remained in touch till you started school. Then she stopped returning letters and answering the phone... I don't know why she cut me out. You'll have to ask her." He flinched at the last part, he instantly regretted saying it.

"She _will_ get better." The teen had seen the reaction.

Cloud nodded his head, even though he didn't agree with his son. If his mother made it out in good physical health, that didn't mean they would see it as good mental health. But he didn't want to burst his young son's hope.

Roxas stared at the floor, he didn't know what to say. Apparently his father had given a damn about him, the man was in his life at one point, but he was saying it was his mother's fault he fell out of it. Why was he lying? Or, rather, why would that be true? He had so many more questions, but now he didn't know what to do. He needed his mother around to help clarify. His mother only ever talked about how his father was a great man, so why did she kick him out of their lives?

He shook his head, "Later," the single word quietly escaped him. Meeting his father was supposed to answer questions, not raise more. Grabbing his shoes, he slipped out the front door. A flood of emotions taking hold of him. The only option he'd ever given the man was to be a terrible person, and now that same man was turning the tables on his mother?

Is that why his mother spoke so highly of him, because she never thought Roxas would meet him? Was it only to make Roxas have a sort of contentment of the man he wasn't supposed to meet? Was his father vindictive? Did he turn the tables to make everything everyone else's fault? The blond shook his head, the more he thought about it the more it angered him.

A determined look crossed his face. He'd have to evoke a reaction out of the man.

.

Roxas sat on the front steps of Riku's house, he didn't know how to get ahold of Axel but he knew Riku would.

"It's early," the silver haired man sat beside Roxas. He'd no idea how long he'd been there, but it seemed a little too purposeful that the blond was patiently waiting. A yawn escaped him as the teen began talking.

"I need to get ahold of Axel, so we can trip up Cloud.'

"You know," he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "You could call him your dad instead of his name."

Shaking his head, Roxas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay," he mocked.

The newly awaken teen stared at the troubled blond for a moment. Slowly he stood up, "I'll text him, he's probably not awake yet." Riku disappeared inside, finding his phone. Coming back outside he attempted to ask the blond a question, but Roxas had already taken off.

Roxas didn't feel like waiting, he wanted to do something right now. Running a hand through his hair, he kept his slow pace. He knew what he'd do.

.

Opening the door, Roxas smirked at the surprised face. "Forgot to knock," his tone unapologetic.

Cloud sat in the living room, a trouble expression already on his face. "You don't have to knock."

Approaching the man, Roxas looked down on him. He was so soft spoken, if his mother hadn't told him, he never would have believed this man was once a solider. Maybe he didn't know the man all that well, but the teen knew he could be a handful, and the way this man carried himself was like a stone in a glass house.

"I'm gay," he cut right to the point.

Cloud's mouth dropped, but no words came out. His lips flapped like a fish out of water, but the teen spoke again before he could form a sentence.

"Just thought you should know," he shrugged, "I don't plan on stopping it because I'm here. I already have a boyfriend too." Still he received no response, he wanted to add more but he didn't want to say something that would anger the man in a different way. He only wanted to see if Cloud had a thing against his 'son' being gay. After a few minutes of Roxas biting his tongue, the older blond finally spoke.

"Um... yeah, okay. I'm glad you're finding your way here."

If that was the only response he was going to get, then he was going to poke the lion some more.

"I invited him to spend the night," when the man's mouth dropped open, Roxas jumped on it. "Unless you have a problem seeing two guys kiss and sleep in the same bed?"

Cloud fished for words, "That's not... no... that's not what I was going to say." The man stood up, making Roxas feel inferior just by height, "We do have rules here Roxas, if you want to have friends over, you need to ask first, but-" he pushed his speech out before Roxas could interject. "It's fine if he comes over." When he added the last bit, the teen's face went red. "No sex, you're too young for that."

The man walked away from his son, leaving him with his mouth clamped shut.

"Dammit..." Roxas mumbled to himself. Cloud hadn't blown up like he wanted to, which was good in Sora's case, but not in his own. He wanted to test the man's patience, he wanted this stranger to be full of himself so his mother wouldn't be the bad one. But, apparently there was more to the history they shared...

Movement caught the teen's attention, he looked up to see his brother standing there, cheeky smile on his face. He mouthed 'thank you,' to his brother before disappearing back into their shared room. At least someone was happy with the outcome.

Turning around, the boy left again. He'd have to get Axel to join him, since he just volunteered him to spend the night, and see if they could stomp on some egg shells.

.

Roxas approached Riku's house again. He'd killed some time, maybe the redhead was finally awake, but he still needed a middle man. As he began to ascend the steps, the door was opened.

"Howdy there babe," the redhead smirked.

Taking a step back, Roxas squinted at the man in confusion.

"What," he said nonchalantly, "Trying to get into character." Joining the blond, they began to walk together to an unknown destination.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Well, so far Cloud doesn't have a problem with it."

"You went along without me?" The redhead feigned betrayal.

"I didn't feel like waiting for you, besides, I need your help still. I volunteered you."

"Oh no, for what?"

"To spend the night."

"Why'd you do something like that?" there was a smirk on his face as he eyed the teen.

"Trying to push his buttons, didn't get me anywhere though."

Axel stopped walking, "Are you trying to help out your brother, or piss off Cloud?"

"Both," Roxas turned around to look at the man, "I want to push all his buttons about this whole 'gay' thing to make sure he's not just saying he's okay with it. What if he says he's okay with it, but the moment he sees two guys kiss, he's suddenly realizes he's against it?"

"How far are you trying to take this whole fake relationship?" another smirk, "I draw the line at marriage."

A blank look over took the blond's face, in a dead pan voice he answered. "That does not surprise me in the slightest."

"Ouch," they continued walking.

.

It really was unfortunate how early the house awoke, it was only a little afternoon and Roxas was already mentally prepared for bed.

Of course, Axel wasn't. They sat on the school playground, and aside from the warm breeze, the only other noise was the redhead blowing his own hot air.

It was a mean train of thought, the blond quickly gave up the inner conversation in exchange for his own 'hot air' blowing around. "You're talkative today..."

With a chuckle, he ran his fingers through his red hair, "Yeah..."

"Why is that?" Roxas figured it was insinuated with the original statement, but even though Axel was talkative he was forcing the younger teen to be too.

"Question for a question?"

Roxas was entirely sure what that meant but nodded either way.

"I took my pills this morning." He received a confused glance, "I took my anti-depressants this morning," he rephrased.

Slowly the small teens head nodded, "Oh..." silence for a few seconds, "I'm sorry." There wasn't any responses running through his head, an apology was the best he could muster.

"My question," the tattooed boy didn't miss a beat. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Knitting," just as quickly, the teen answered.

There was a long silence between the two, Axel stared off into space and Roxas enjoyed the few minutes of silence, unsure of his next step.

"Okay," the redhead nodded, "Knitting..." he sounded confused but kept it to himself. "That's cool... I never... I never really saw you as the knitting type to be honest." Roxas rubbed the back of his neck, it was obvious he was nervous, "How'd you get into that? What do you make?"

The more questions Axel asked, the more on edge the teen became. "I lied," he finally blurted out. Axel paused again, sparing him a quick- questioning- glance. "I don't know how to knit," the blond finally admitted. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Um..." Axel sidelined his thinking, only to answer the blond, "I like hanging out." With a shrug he continued, "Not too much, hanging out and relaxing I guess." The conversation was falling down hill again. "I used to be really into sports, but there was so much drama tied into it, for no reason. I have no talent for anything else..." another shrug, "I like to relax." It didn't uplift the conversation as much as the redhead was planning, but he felt like it gave him more incentive for his next question. "What do you like to do? And why did you lie before?"

"Because you wanted an answer," now it was Roxas' turn to shrug.

"Well, if we're 'dating' I should probably know some stuff about you..."

As much as Roxas wanted to argue, the man had a point. "Okay," he took a deep breath, but nothing came out. Looking off to the side, he continued to think. The longer the silence persisted, the more confused Axel became.

"Alright, what did you used to do before you came here?"

That didn't make the situation any easier for the teen, with another deep breath he lead Axel on, thinking he would answer.

"Alright," Axel repeated, "Where were you before you came here?"

"About 2 hours away," that wasn't what Axel was looking for. The teen took a deep breath and switched his mindset, "I lived with my mom."

"That's gotta be different, just the two of you and now a house full..."

"It wasn't just us two," he cut him off. "Her boyfriend, Zack, and Zack's brother, sometimes, lived there too." Axel's mouth opened, prepared to ask more questions, but the blond beat him to it.

"Where'd you move here from?"

"Um... about 4 hours," he looked around before pointing, "That way," he finished. Without giving the blond a chance, he answered what he believed to be the next question, "I'm the opposite of you. I lived there with my dad and older brother, moved here to 'reconnect' with my mom."

Roxas was surprised. "How'd it work out for you?"

"Well, that was almost 5 years ago, so I guess pretty good."

"How's she feel about your face tattoos?" He gestured to his own face, a smirk slowly growing.

"What these sexy things," he wore his own smirk, "I got them before I came here, she doesn't really have much of a choice but to accept them... I don't think she cares for them," he offered another shrug, "But she's laid back, keeps to herself a lot, so I don't really think about it." The silence returned as the redhead pondered the question more. "What about your mom?"

"What about her?"

"How's she feel about you being out here?"

"Uh," he shook his head, mumbling, "She doesn't know." Before Axel could chime in, he changed the subject. The conversation was beginning to lead down a dark hole, one the blond wasn't ready to vocalize. "It's late enough, right?" Without an answer, the blond began to head in the direction he thought his new found home was in. "This way, right?"

The redhead didn't budge, he watched the younger teen in concern before correcting him. "No," he pointed, "It's this way." His own questions were beginning to drive him crazy, torn between feeling like he could help the obviously troubled blond and feeling like he didn't really care. "Well, what do you think I should know, as your 'boyfriend'?" Once they were walking in unison, the redhead received an answer.

"My name is Roxas Strife, I'm blond, I have blue eyes, I'm short for no damn reason apparently..." the exaggerate frown on his face made a smirk form on the other boy's. "I didn't want to come here and I don't plan on staying..." Roxas stopped in his tracks, staring at the ground while he confidently spoke, "My mother will get better and everything else will get better too."

The statement caused more questions to pop in the redhead's mind, but the boy walked away too fast, as if he was walking away from the conversation itself. "Alright... that's not much better than nothing... but still better," Axel shrugged, following behind till it came time for him to lead the way.

Once down the street, the tone the blond emitted felt different- heavy. Axel kept a look out through the corner of his eye, it was clear Roxas was upset about something but it came out of nowhere, with no hints or clues. The closer they came to his house, he realized the teen was eyeing the car parked out front. Now it was Axel's turn to raise red flags, he'd never seen the car before. The flags Roxas raised, were different, like he knew the vehicle.

"Who's is it?" Axel asked, without sparing another sideways glance.

"He better have good news, or be getting the Hell out of here..." the last bit was a mumble that only raised more questions.

Following Roxas' lead, he found Cloud and Tifa in the living room, with another man he'd never laid eyes on before. No one looked happy, even as they walked in the house. Tifa was the only one to offer a fake smile, welcoming the blond teen home and greeting Axel.

"Hey Roxas," the dark haired stranger had a pleasant smile even though his presence didn't match, "I need to talk to you."

"That's a long drive just to 'talk'," the blond stood still, waiting for the stranger to continue.

Said stranger looked around the room, "I was hoping to talk in private-"

"Well then you shouldn't be trying to have a conversation with _my_ son." No one missed the sharp edge in Cloud's voice, Roxas smirked and waited for the stranger to continue.

Tifa stood awkwardly beside Roxas and Axel, frozen in place after her pleasantries, but when the redhead turned to step out of the hostile room she grabbed his arm and shook her head. Axel was apart of this in her eyes.

"Well, your mom isn't doing very well." The stranger's voice was blunt and cold. "I thought it would be best to tell you in person instead of over the phone, the doctors don't think she's going to wake up, ever." His mouth moved like he had more to say, but he wasn't given the chance.

"That's bullshit." A dark scowl covered Roxas' face, "Of course she's going to wake up, you're just pissed because you know once she does she's going to kick your sorry ass out, Zack." The malice in his voice was worse than any tone he'd ever had with Cloud, even in his own thoughts.

"Yeah," Zack was matching Roxas' energy. "And you're just pissed because you know even if she does wake up, you wont be able to live with her till after you turn 18." Before the teen could call 'bullshit' again, Zack cut him off. "She tried to _kill_ herself Roxas, she's not fit to parent."

If Zack hadn't been a reasonable distant away, Roxas would've swung at him. Instead the teen turned and stormed out the door, not caring to look back or to think how Axel was still tagging along.

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_**Long time no chapter, right?**_

_**Sorry.**_

_**Uploaded: September 21, 2019**_


	7. Chapter 7

Roxas slowed his pace down, guilt and anger playing tug a war in his mind. Glancing behind him, he noticed the redhead was still hot on his tail, "I never asked you to follow me, go home..."

"I know you didn't," Axel wanted to say more, but he knew none of his questions or comments would be entertained. His legs were definitely getting a work out, but it seemed the blond was finally slowing down his speed.

After a few more blocks in silence, both teen's heads turned to find a familiar boy calling after them,

"Roxas!" the brunet was hunched over, gasping between words. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"What Sora?"

All four of them ignored the harsh tone, but Riku was the first to break the tension. "You seem troubled."

Before Roxas could snap a remark, his brother took over, taking a few steps past him and encouraging Roxas to follow. Axel and Riku stayed back, barely in ear shot, when they began conversing, Sora began as well. "What's wrong?" he cut off his brother, "Don't tell me nothing, we were a couple blocks away from you and I could see, from that far, that something is clearly wrong... are you unhappy here...?"

"No," Roxas let out a slow, deep, breath, "That's not it..."

"I know it's not much, but I'm trying to help-"

"Sora," he cut off his brother, "You've done more than enough, it's nothing to do with you, I'm just... I'm just..." Roxas didn't know what to say. He was tired, he was mad, he felt hopeless, he felt betrayed, but how could he explain that without using any of those words?

"I'm sorry," Sora wrapped Roxas in a hug. It wasn't asked for, or expected, but it wasn't completely rejected. It lasted a few seconds before the brunet pulled away, keeps his hands on Roxas' forearms. "I want to help."

"There's..." Blue eyes searched blue eyes, "There's nothing you can do..."

"There's always something that can be done," a determined look slowly crossed his face. His hands retracted to clasp together in front of himself, he looked back at the other two teens.

Riku and Axel were still deep in conversation, Riku being a little more honest than Sora had been, "We were in the bedroom, Cloud and Zack," he said the last name like a question, "Started yelling at each other, and then Tifa told us to go for a walk, they were yelling about-"

"Let's show Roxas around!" Sora yelled as he slowly approached, a toothy grin on his face.

"I've walked all around," the blond started, but his brother turned and cut him off, smile still in tact.

"But you haven't seen all the best spots yet, let's go to the mall."

The mall was nowhere near as exciting at Sora made it seem, he tried to over play every little thing- like the view, the food, the stores- but after the 2nd greasy snack his brother made him try, Roxas wanted to get out of there.

"Sora, thanks, but can we go somewhere not as... loud?"

"Let's go to my place," Axel threw out, everyone's eyes stayed on Roxas though, waiting for his answer.

"Alright, let's go." The blond's answer was a lot quicker than anyone expected, and he brushed it off as though it was a simple suggestion.

"I've never been to Axel's house before..." Sora whispered to Riku, following behind Axel and his brother.

"It's not scary," Riku comforted the brunet, "It'll give Roxas his quiet..."

The walk was the quiet that Roxas had been searching for, but the long they walked, the more he began to get the feeling that it was a big step that Axel was inviting him to his house. Although, he couldn't think of a reason for it to be.

As they walked in, Roxas was hit in the face with cigarette smoke, "Hold you breath," the redhead mumbled. They followed Axel through the dark cluttered house, the air thick with smoke, until they finally entered his room. His windows allowed light in, reminding them of the sunlight that was still outside. His room was refreshing to say the least, the air light and clean.

"House all to yourself?" Roxas broke the silence.

"Huh? No, my mom's in her room, downstairs."

"The basement?" The blond thought it strange for the parent to sleep in the basement while the 'angsty' teen slept on the main floor. A nod was the only reply he received before the teen changed the subject.

"Nice and quiet," Axel held up his arms, gesturing to his room. Sora clung to Riku's side, as if off put about something, while Riku sat in his usual position, leaning back with his arms crossed.

"It's just as quiet as my house," Riku defended.

"Yeah, but we always go to your house," Axel chided, "We need a change in scenery."

Daylight slowly faded, the four of them talking about every insignificant thing they could think of. Roxas wouldn't admit it, but he definitely appreciated the distraction. But as the light disappeared, Roxas became anxious again.

"Alright, we'll see you later," the silver haired teen waved, the smallest teen in tow. Roxas shifted his weight back and forth, it wasn't too cold, but he'd gotten used to sleeping in a nice warm bed.

As the teen started to mumble an awkward farewell to the redhead, he was cut off. "What, you're not staying? I thought you'd hang out here with me, just because they left doesn't mean you have too..." Roxas wondered if Axel was begging him to stay for his own sake or for Roxas' sanity.

"Yeah, sure, if you want to keep my terrible company, so be it." With a shrug, Roxas followed Axel back into the house. It surprised him that he still hadn't heard a peep from Axel's mother, "You sure she's even here?"

Axel stopped in his tracks, quiet in thought, "Like I said, she keeps to herself."

"That's gotta feel lonely, if she's like this all the time..." Roxas returned to his seat, a bean bag chair close to the floor.

Axel seemed saddened at first, but it was his turn to shrug it off. "It's got it's perks," he pulled out a large bottle of clear liquid. Handing it over to Roxas with a blank face, the redhead had no idea how the blond would react to being offered liquor, especially now that they were alone. His face turned to surprise when Roxas twisted off the top, cracking the seal, and took a large swig.

Roxas gulped down as much as he could before his lungs begged him to exhale. As he lowered the bottle the hot feelings took over, his lips burned from where the bottle had been, his mouth a strong taste that almost made him want to dry heave, and his throat felt like he had swallowed fire. The pit of that fire sat beside his heart in his chest, his eyes watered before he finally choked out a sentence, "Did you want to get cups?"

"No newbie to liquor are you Rox," Axel smirked, "If you want to drink it straight, go for it." He cracked open a beer the blond never saw him pull out, he held it up from across the room, "Cheers."

Roxas copied the gesture, adding a nod, before he mentally prepared himself for his next chug. He was used to drinking, not that he'd tell Axel, but the first couple sips were always hard to swallow.

"Your mom doesn't mind you drinking?" Of course the redhead had to break the silence. Axel watched as the blond chugged and nodded before giving him an answer, he could tell Roxas was having a hard time swallowing but he also seemed to be enjoying the burn.

"Could ask you the same thing," it wasn't an answer at all, but Axel played his game. Maybe he'd eventually get a straight answer.

"She keeps to herself," he repeated, "I'm not out getting arrested every night so she doesn't see a problem..." Now it was his turn to nod. "I'm not getting in trouble, I'm not getting her in trouble, so as long as it stays that way, she doesn't mind buying it for me."

"Wow, sounds depressing," Roxas mumbled, another hard swallow. "Sitting in your room all day, drinking by your lonesome."

With a chuckle he relaxed, "Yeah, that's why I'm always hanging out with Riku."

"He's not a bad person..." Roxas said it more to himself than Axel.

"Yeah. He's no drama, and he's annoyingly rational... he's a good egg for your brother to end up with."

Roxas seemed surprised when Axel added his two sense about Riku, but again, the only response he gave was a nod. The blond turned the bottle over in his hand, admiring the label plastered on the front, he was so lost in the bottle he was noticing how Axel wasn't drinking his beer.

Heat was slowly oozing through his body, the liquor slowly spreading, it hadn't reached his head though. That was what he really wanted. With a deep inhale, he pressed the bottle to his lips and chugged, plugging his nose to help keep his concentration. It wasn't till his lungs screamed for air that he put the bottle down. Gasping for air as the liquor spread to his brains. The liquid hit without hesitation, Roxas was reveling in it as he stared at the blank wall in front of him, not noticing Axel's concerned stare.

A small sip of his drink, Axel tested the waters, "Your mom doesn't care about you drinking?"

Without breaking his stare from the wall he answered, "No... she understands... it's a give and take..."

Axel stayed off his drink, the way the blond was acting put the redhead on edge. There was a switch in Roxas that Axel didn't want to flip, unsure of the outcome. "Give and take?"

This time it took the blond a few drinks to answer. Never breaking eye contact with the wall, as if it was his lifeline. "She doesn't mind me getting drunk, as long as I stay quiet about her 'accidents'." Even though he knew Roxas wasn't watching, he gave a quizzical stare, his mouth wanting to push and prod more, but he was beaten to it. "She makes black eyes look so... graceful..."

It only raised more question, the tension in the room rising with it. Axel wanted to start demanding answers from the blond, clean simple answers so he could effectively help the teen, but he knew they were in dangerous territory. He tried to ease the conversation to a safe zone. "What do you like to do... did you like to do, before you came here?"

Roxas paused. Staring at the wall, clearly in thought, but making no attempt to answer. He was so deep in his mind he didn't notice the time ticking by.

The redhead was beginning to think he'd crossed a line, would the boy snap and be angry or shut down. The latter was seeming more and more already in effect, with a fake chuckle he began to change the subject, but he let his voice fade out.

With a blank stare the younger spoke, "I like spending time with my mom... talking... joking..."

If Axel hadn't been intensely watching, he wouldn't have noticed the tears pouring down his face. He sat forward as Roxas took another large swig, already drunk, the tears kept pouring like a waterfall but his face and voices remained relaxed.

"I like her..."

In an attempt to lighten the cloud, Axel smirked, "You don't like sports, music, art? Anything else? Your dark little soul has to like something...?"

He slowly shook his head, "I don't know..." his face finally tensed, scowling at the wall, "I know what I don't like." Before the sober one could 'lighten' the mood again, the blond continued. "She has the corniest jokes," he spoke around his chuckling. "They're so bad they're good."

Axel was on edge even while Roxas was laughing.

"She makes the best food, she tries to teach me but it's not the same when I do it. And flowers," he shook his head with another chuckle, "They're so pretty, she loves taking care of things." His smirk dropped, "Except herself"

Another couple of gulps, "What do you nean?" Red flags were up, but Axel had a growing suspicion and this was the time for answers.

"You heard Zack," he spit out with malice, "she tried to kill herself. Zack and Angeal could never get her close enough, so she had to do it herself." He eyed the almost empty liquor bottle, "This is nice and all, but it's not the same..." Finishing the bottle, he spit out his next words. "I'd take a million bruises and broken bones to see her smile."

Axel wanted to ask, knowing sober Roxas wouldn't answer, but before the words formed, Roxas punched his thigh repeatedly. As he moved to stop the action, the blond stopped on his own. "They'll be gone when she wakes up."

An hour of silence drifted by, Roxas beyond drunk and Axel completely sober. Said blond didn't even notice the texting Axel was doing, Axel would have easily changed the subject had he asked.

Looking at Riku's new message let Axel know they were on the sandw page but it was to soon to confront the blond. By the time he had looked back up, Roxas had slouched down and was easily asleep.

Outside Axel stood on the I'll lit sidewalk, one hand holding the phone to his ear, the other pouring out his beer. "Riku, what else did you hear earlier?"

"Cloud... was not happy to see him."

"Did they say anything?"

"Cloud blames Zack, we weren't trying to eavesdrop."

"Should hear how he was talking," Riku cut him off.

"Until he's ready to talk like that sober, there isn't much to help with Ax. Tell your bleeding heart to take a seat and give the guy some space."

"I don't-,"

"You always do. You find something 'broken' and you feel the need to fix it, even when it destroys you and leaves you for dead. If I was wrong you wouldn't still be living with your mother."

Axel was done talking to Riku, looking at the stars for answers. There was no answer, but he had left an intoxicated minor in his room alone, even if he had been asleep it wasn't smart to leave him by himself.

Morning hit the blond hard, but not as hard as the liquor had. Axel ushered him on the bus and to his class, but try as he might, it was beyond obvious the blond was still drunk.

"Is he drunk?" Sora asked, watching his brother sit in the cafeteria. Axel and Riku silently watched, one's arms crossed in a disapproving manner while the other ran his fingers through his hair and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

No one else seemed to notice, Roxas had stayed quiet and to himself, but his movements were lethargic and wobbly. With a deep breath Sora walked away, handing responsibility for his brother off to Riku, he couldn't risk his brother snapping and making a wrong move. There was a lot he was hiding, and if Seifer made an appearance again there was no telling how he'd react.

In no time, a familiar older blond was in the office. Roxas didn't enter the room, when his teacher told him Cloud was there to pick him up, he knew someone was selling him out, the way he stormed out of the school almost made it seem like he was angry but he was truthfully relieved. Until Cloud joined him in the car, although the man stayed silent, Roxas knew he wanted to scold the minor. The ride was quiet, till they pulled into the driveway of the house they all called home.

"Roxas..." Cloud spoke before he parked the car, "I..."

Roxas wanted to sleep, he wanted to snap at the man to leave him alone, to save the lecture, but he didn't have enough energy to be mad.

"I'm here for you..." not what he was expecting to hear. The older blond wanted to add that he knew there was more going on, that he knew Roxas needed help, he knew things weren't alright with him, but that was setting up a fight. A fight because what did he really know about a child he hadn't seen in so many years... "I'm here if you want to talk... but... I won't supply alcohol."

The blond didn't rush to get out of the car, not enjoying or hating the time. If Cloud expected him to start pouring his heart out, he was wrong. There was no more reason to stay in the car. They sat in silence like they were part of some happy family, but they weren't happy and they weren't a family. They were strangers with some DNA and nothing more. Instead he crashed on his bed, that wasn't his bed, and stared at his replacement's bed. Soon facing the wall when his emotions began to grow too much.

"Wake up already..."

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_**Long time no chapter...**_

_**Surviving this pandemic okay?**_

_**Uploaded: May 1st, 2020**_


	8. Chapter 8

"I can't believe you Axel!" Sora opened the front door, kicking his shoes off with a huff. Riku and Axel slowly following him inside, they'd heard the lecture the entire way there, but Sora didn't sound like he was done.

"Sora," Roxas stepped out of their room and into sight, "I can take care of myself."

Although Sora shut his mouth, he continued to glare at the redhead. With a shake of his head, he lead the group to the small bedroom.

"Roxas," the concerned brother asked, "He didn't hurt you or anything... right?" Sora mumbled it as if that was going to stop Axel from hearing.

Roxas kept his feet planted to the floor while he sat on his bed, hunched over with his forearms resting on his knees. "No."

Sora sat opposite Roxas, his back straight as a board as he nervously watched his brother. "Are you sure? I mean, no? Nothing at all? It's okay if something happened, I mean, even if you don't want to tell me..." He continued to ramble, his emotions plastered on his face.

The blond's face remained void of emotions, except for the sarcastic smirk he forced on. "Yeah Sor... I turned into you." Glancing at his brother he noticed the confusion but didn't elaborate.

"Well," Axel chimed in, "In _our_ responsible defense, Roxas wanted to come back here once he realized he was trashed. And I knew better than to let him be out in an unfamiliar town while he was trashed."

Axel could tell a lot by the 'twins' faces, Sora was not comforted, and Roxas didn't know what he was talking about. Riku sat beside Sora, leaving Axel standing by the shut door, receiving glares all over the emotional road map.

"And," he defended his responsibility, "teachers put this together for you... I told them you might miss a few more days." That explained the large stack he plopped on the bed, the blond nodding his head before turning away from it.

"Only if there's more alcohol," It wasn't a joke, but when no one laughed Roxas attempted to lighten the mood. "Come on, alcohols always fun."

"Do you remember what you said last night?" That perked Sora up more, but Axel was testing waters he knew were full of dangerous rocks.

Roxas may not have spoken, but he also didn't face Axel, or even look in his direction. Axel didn't need words to know what that meant.

"Would you like me to tell you?"

Even though Axel was the one speaking, Roxas looked at his brother. His back visibly stiffening.

"I said enough," Roxas stared the taller man down. "It wasn't your business and it's sure as Hell no one else's."

It was as if Roxas knew he'd said something embarrassing, something to be ashamed about.

"What, you're going to take all that to the grave?"

"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like it's going to be a long trip." The blond threw his hands up, standing as if to size up Axel. Blood pounded in Roxas' ears, but the quietness of the room didn't escape him. He cursed himself before returning to his seat, "Thanks," he attempted again to defuse the tension, grabbing the pile of papers to throw on the other side of him.

"You're willing to hold this over your own head?" His bleeding heart spoke softer, moving closer to sit near the blond. Reading his body language as best he could, but the blond was good at hiding.

"I'm trying to spend time with my brother... drop it." The beginning was so nicely spoken, but Roxas bit the last words out, not sparring the redhead a glance.

Said brother decided to try to pry, "We're brothers... you can tell me anything."

The blond rolled his eyes, his weight shifting, not liking that he was in the hot seat. "Sora, what have I done to make you think I'm hiding anything?" Before the younger brother could answer, Roxas answered for him, "Nothing."

Sora watched his brother, taking a moment to pick his words for once. "There's a lot..." Everyone's eyebrows rose, causing Sora to snap out, "I'm not that blind!"

Roxas stood up, "It's too hot in here," he ducked his head down as he fled the room. Slowing his pace as to not alert Tifa or Cloud, he only wanted fresh air.

His space was soon occupied, but he kept his eyes shut while he hoped it wasn't Sora. The suspense got to him before the person revealed themself, he turned to face them head on.

"Sorry to blow your spot up," Axel offered with a shrug.

"Forget it... and forget whatever you think you know about me." Roxas started so strong, but Axel heard the blond whisper, ever so quietly, "Please?"

"Listen," Axel made up the words as he went, "That was a lot of alcohol you drank, and you did it really fast, I mean, damn! It's a good thing we weren't competing."

"Yeah," Roxas chuckled, knowingly adding into Axel's scheme, "With your measly 3 sips of beer."

"Ha... you noticed?" The redhead rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry if red flags went up, but it didn't seem like a good idea for me to out drink you."

"I don't know if you could, you are a beer drinker after all," he teased more.

"That was my bottle of liquor you polished off."

Roxas had another comeback, but the light heartedness they'd achieved would be gone. He searched for some joke to say next, but as time ticked by he was saved by the bell.

"Roxas, Axel," Cloud greeted, quietly shutting the door. "I'm glad you two are hitting it off, but after last night, I'm worried."

"Sorry," Axel jumped in, "It got out of hand."

"It was my idea," Roxas quickly shot out, "I didn't want to stop once I started."

Cloud motioned for the two to calm down, not knowing exactly what to say after their reactions. "Axel, I don't know what's allowed in your house, but you're still underage," his gaze shifted to his son, "I don't know what your mother allowed either, but you are also underage. You two are hurting yourselves in the long run... it's not worth a couple hours of fun."

"Yes I know Cloud-" the mini blond was cut off.

"If you're going to be drinking, please don't..." he closed his eyes, as if that would erase his knowledge of what he was condoning. "But if you must, be smart about it." Cloud didn't clarify, while neither teen thought he needed to, it meant a lot to know Cloud didn't either.

Roxas again kept his mouth shut, why crash a seemingly heartfelt moment with bullshit? He even needed to hault his movements too, because if his words were bad for him then his next idea was equally disruptive. Testing Cloud's acceptance of having a gay son was something he'd do for Sora, but was now the time?

Fingers slowly intertwined with his, he wanted to react but he couldn't. There was no right move in that second, but to stay still. Cloud gave a small smile before retreating inside, Roxas still didn't know what to do. If Cloud was watching, he'd know it was fake, but if he held on too long, Axel might question how much was fake.

"He's gone," Axel contradicted himself by whispering.

Roxas opened his hand, and slowly Axel pulled away. "Was that wrong?" Axel made have had a smirk, but his tone was genuine.

"I thought about doing something like that too."

The smirk became somber, "But you didn't do it..." He stayed watching the blond, as if he expected a broad reaction.

Again Roxas missed his cue to sound sincere, "You beat me to it..." His voice didn't sound believable either, but like every other doubtful moment, Axel would save it for later.

The teens enjoyed the quiet air, Roxas staring at the sky and Axel staring at him. They took turns eyeing each other and the clouds, until they slipped and their eyes met. It felt like the first time they actually made eye contact, and if it felt awkward neither let it show.

"Sora's going to follow us out here soon," Axel spoke when Roxas looked away.

"Would that be bad, his room's so tiny."

It was Axel's turn to catch himself, knowing his words could be disastrous. "It has perks," he offered, having nothing to back up his claim, "It'll be fine." His smirk held little reassurance, but Roxas followed him nonetheless.

Riku and Sora were whispering to each other, stopping as Roxas opened the door, Sora jumping and scrambling for words. "I'm sorry Rox, but I think it might make you feel better to talk about whatever is bothering you."

Roxas began to shake his head, but it was Axel who spoke. "No, Sora, I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to throw Roxas under the bus like that, and it wasn't my business to share something I don't know anything about."

The blond's mouth stayed tightly shut, wanting to take blame off Axel, but also glad he was no longer in the hot seat. It looked like Sora accepted his rebuttal, with a huff. Roxas moved to return to his previous spot, watching and waiting for Axel to sit next to him. "Sor... I've been alive for almost 17 years, I've known you less than a month," before the negativity of his words could set in, he hurriedly finished his train of though. "You're not going to know every little thing about me. Not every smile, or every broken bone."

"You've broken a bone? His wide eyed brother asked. "How'd it happen?" He asked like it was some other worldly concept, something only heard of on TV.

"Yeah..." Roxas didn't understand his amazement, "Which one?"

If possible, Sora's eyes grew, but he gave no answer. And Roxas hated to answer things he wasn't directly asked.

"Not long before I moved here," Axel read the quietness of the room, "I broke my ankle." He chuckled like it was a fond memory, "I played basketball and, I don't know, lost my footing? Rolled my ankle and broke my fibula..."

Roxas slowly followed his cue. "I broke my ankle too... part of the talus." Eyes begged him to keep talking, doing so after another pause. "They call it snowboarder's ankle, which... I guess is fitting. I broke mine while snowboarding."

"You like to snowboard?"

Roxas absentmindedly nodded his head, "Yeah... I did." It was like prying teeth, but everyone patiently watched and waited. "I haven't gone since it happened..." the stares begged for a little more, "It happened when I was eight."

A smile steadily grew on Sora's face, growing as the silence progressed. By the time Roxas thought to look, he was bursting at the seams. When his own face showed concern, Sora jumped.

"I'm sorry! I don't think it's funny, I'm not some secret sadist!" He shook his hands as he defended himself, "I'm sorry, I just like hearing about you. You know, about your life... how'd you break it? Like, what happened leading up to it?"

Roxas took a deep breath, here he was being asked a direct question and still not wanting to answer. "Um... I remember riding down a big hill... at a resort place... I was next to Zack, he was the one who took me... and then Zack was really close, and we wiped out..." Roxas felt childish with his rambling, but he was trying to answer Sora before he could even ask anything.

"How did Zack get hurt?" He'd missed a question.

"He didn't... by the time I realized what was happening, he was standing next to me, calling an ambulance and telling them I probably had a broken ankle and wrist..."

"Is that why you have so many scars?" No one saw that question coming, "All you ever show is your forearms but you have a bunch of teeny tiny little scars..." He could sense he'd crossed a line much sooner than he should have by the scowl on Roxas' face.

"There's not that many, no ones asked about them, and scars mean I've done stuff and lived." He point blank listed, staring his brother down. "Maybe if your dad didn't ditch, you'd know more about me."

"Why is it always 'my' dad's fault? Why isn't your mom's?"

"Yeah, I guess it's too bad my mom's not Tifa-"

"Enough!" Riku stepped in, "Roxas whatever happened between them, does not matter. They missed the first 16, years, and now that you're here you're the one pushing them away. You're pushing Cloud out, trying to 'self-sacrifice' and piss him off, and you're shutting Sora out when all he wants is get to know you. If you really want to prove Cloud is shitty, try to connect with him and see if he steps up or steps out."

No matter how rational Riku sounded, it still got under Roxas' skin. He stormed out of the house, not bothering to see who was running to catch up. Maybe it'd be someone to take him out of his misery.

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I don't know why I said I'm trying to do this right. I can't do anything right.

Uploaded: August 2nd, 2020


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